Back in September, Yahoo released the account details of a Chinese journalist, Shi Tao, to the authorities. As a result, he is now serving a ten year prison sentence for “illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities” - using his Yahoo account to send an email to the USA.

The email in question summarised an internal Communist Party directive warning Chinese journalists of possible social unrest during the anniversary of the June 4 Movement (in memory of the Tiananmen crackdown), and directed them not to fuel it via media reports.

Imprisoned for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, a right entrenched in international law and the Chinese Constitution, Amnesty International considers Shi Tao to be a Prisoner of Conscience.

Companies must respect human rights, wherever they operate. Yahoo’s business ethics are becoming questionable due to its role in assisting the Chinese government to sentencing Shi Tao. The company has signed the Public Pledge on Self-Discipline for the Internet Industry, effectively agreeing to implement China’s draconian system of censorship and control.

Amnesty International has raised its concerns with Yahoo. The company has responded without addressing all the concerns raised.

You can read Yahoo’s full response here and learn more about human rights on the internet here.

Amnesty is calling on people to use our freedom of expression to highlight Yahoo’s responsibility towards human rights in China and wherever it operates.

You can either use the sample letter, below, or write your own - if you do the latter, pleae take the time to check out Amnesty’s letter writing guide - and send it to:

Jerry Yang and David Filo
Co-founders, Chief Yahoo & Directors
Emails: jerry@yahoo-inc.com; filo@yahoo-inc.com

Yahoo Customer Care
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, California 94089
USA

The letter…

Dear Jerry Yang and David Filo,

I am writing to you to express my deep concern over recent allegations that your company has assisted authorities in China in events which led to the imprisonment of Shi Tao, a Chinese journalist. On April 27, 2005, Shi Tao received a ten-year prison term for sending information about a Communist Party decision through his Yahoo email account to a website based in the United States. Amnesty International considers him a Prisoner of Conscience, as he was imprisoned for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression and opinion.

I am alarmed that in the pursuit of new and lucrative markets, your company is contributing to human rights violations. Yahoo should urgently give consideration to the human rights implications of its business operations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights calls upon every organ of society, which includes companies, to respect human rights.

Yahoo’s conduct in Shi Tao’s case has exposed your company to the risk of being complicit in human rights violations. I therefore call upon Yahoo to:

• Use its influence to secure Shi Tao’s release
• Stop any actions that could undermine human rights in any country in which you operate
• Take immediate steps to ensure that all your units – the parent corporation and subsidiaries – uphold human rights responsibilities for companies, as outlined by the UN Norms for Business
• Develop an explicit human rights policy, ensuring that it complies with the UN Norms for Business.

Sincerely,

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